Community Blessing

A Temple Miracle

Bishop Dean M. Davies of the Presiding Bishopric shared the following at a BYU Devotional. (3 Nov 2015)   It reminds us of what we can accomplish with the help of the Lord.

“When President Monson announced that a temple would be built in Philadelphia, Bishop Davies and others researched possible temple sites. They recommended two sites, which were across the street from each other. With the approval of the First Presidency, they began the process of acquiring the properties. To Bishop Davies’ surprise, the owner of the first site accepted the offer without negotiation.

Bishop Davies explained that often when a property owner discovers that the interested party is the Church, the price goes up. This is what happened with the second property. The owner responded with a price more than four times the price offered.

When he met with the owner of the first property, the owner explained that he had owned the property for twenty-five years and could have developed it several times, but he had always felt that the property had a “higher and better purpose.”

Bishop Davies said, “When it comes to building the kingdom of God—and especially when it comes to building temples—things often don’t go as smoothly as we would hope. Shortly after we filed the paperwork, the city of Philadelphia, through a city-controlled agency, filed a legal claim that stopped the transaction. They wanted to take title to the property themselves. This was a very serious matter. We did everything we could to meet with the agency and remove the claim, but were unsuccessful. …As a final step we took our appeal of last resort to the mayor. He was the only one with the authority to change the situation.

With a heavy heart I flew to Philadelphia with the Church temple architect. There we were joined by an Area Seventy and two local Church members. One of these members was someone you may have heard of. He played on the BYU football team and eventually ended up playing professional football for the Philadelphia Eagles. Vai Sikahema is a well-known local ­celebrity in Philadelphia.

He had completed a successful career playing football and afterward became a sports announcer on a local tele­vision station.

Before the meeting with the mayor, our little group of five met together and talked about the purpose for the meeting. Then we knelt in prayer. We knew that we would desperately need the Lord’s blessing that day.

At the meeting, the mayor, a city council member, and some of the mayor’s staff were in attendance. After introductions, my heart sank as I realized the atmosphere in the room was more than a little cold. …The hearts of the city officials had been set against our building a temple there, and this meeting was little more than a formality. As we started to explain the project, the mayor explained that his staff had assured him this property was better suited for commercial purposes—an office building or a hotel would not only benefit the city with jobs but would provide needed tax revenue. We would need to look for another site.

…I know that the five members of the Church in that room were pleading in our hearts for heavenly help. What could we say or do that would help change the mayor’s heart and mind? I asked the mayor if the architect could show a simple drawing or two of how the temple might look. He looked at his watch—a sign that he wanted the meeting to end—and said, “Okay.” But before the architect could begin, Brother Sikahema asked the mayor if he could say something. The mayor was acquainted with Brother Sikahema and said, “Of course.” Vai paused for a moment and then stood. In a humble voice he said:

“Mr. Mayor, many years ago when I was a young boy in Tonga, my father and mother and my brothers and sisters sold our home, we sold fruits and vegetables, and we sold everything we could to have enough money to travel to Hamilton, New Zealand, to be sealed as an eternal family in the temple. You need this temple. This temple will bless your city. This temple will bless your community. It will bless the people.”

Then he sat down. We were all very quiet. After a moment the Church architect stood and showed the mayor a few drawings of what a temple might look like. It was clear that in those few minutes something had changed. In reality, everything had changed. As the architect sat down, the nonmember city councilman asked to speak. He stood and said, “Mr. Mayor, I have spoken with the leaders in the community and neighbors of this property. We want this temple. We need this temple. It will bless our city. It will bless our community. It will bless the people.”

As he spoke, you could feel the Spirit come into the meeting. It was a sacred moment. What was to have been a thirty-minute meeting lasted for the better part of an hour and a half. …To my surprise, at the end of this public meeting the mayor turned and asked if I would offer a prayer. His heart had changed. The temple would go forward. It would be built on the selected site.”